New days
by xuren17
Summary: The Harvest is thought to be the end for all civilizations, but with Commander Shepard leading the effort there could be hope for everyone. Hope to see new days beyond the horizon of Reaper War...


**Author's note: **_This is going to be my very first experience with writing a fanfiction. Although English is not my mother tongue, I've decided not to write this fanfic in Czech, not just because there wouldn't be anybody to read it - as I highly doubt that I will find fellow Czech ME fans wandering around here - but also to try to improve my English. _

_As most of you who are reading these lines I've spent a lot of time in the Mass Effect universe too (at this moment I am playing the whole trilogy yet again) and found out that it is a sci-fi universe I know very well and I profoundly care about (as weird as it may sound). This has led me to making my own interpretation of the infamous controversial ME3's ending and making a story beyond the events of the Reaper War. With that said, keep in mind this is more or less an experiment and I really have no idea how this work is going to continue or not._

_Finally, I have to point out that I am by no means a skilled writer (but hey, everybody has to start somewhere), meaning that everyone is open to criticize me and my work. I also don't plan to write on a regular basis, new chapters will appear in correlation with my time dispositions. Enough talk now, let's get to work._

**Chapter 1: A desperate run**

"This is it," said Anderson when something abruptly shook the vehicle that came to a sudden halt. Black smoke started to pour inside the passenger compartment.

"We've been hit, everybody out!" shouted the driver. Shepard opened the rear hatch and quickly jumped out. He took a long look around, searching for enemies, but in his vicinity was nothing but rubble and dust. The rest of convoy stopped too, soldiers started to disembark as there were more vehicles damaged. Mako tanks at the front located and dispatched the foe, several Ravagers halfway to the Citadel beam. With them taken care of, Anderson ordered the Hammer group to spread out and proceed on foot, using the tanks as cover if needed.

"The Reapers are closing in, we have to move fast," reminded Anderson. Their target was not far, about nine hundred meters. Shepard glanced at Garrus and Javik, they all nodded simultaneously knowing the worst is yet to come.

Seeing the beam closer and closer, everyone began to feel the tension and fuss that come when one is facing something unknown. It was strangely quiet, around them in an approximately a kilometre radius was nothing but ruins. The lack of more Reaper units guarding the beam scared Shepard. He had never been to London before, but from what he could recall, it used to be a beautiful city, millennia old, the metropolitan centre of a nation which controlled quarter of Earth at its height. But that was all gone, buried in ruins and set aflame - a destiny shared by many other planets in the galaxy.

Terrified soldiers moved slowly, ghastly silence echoed in their minds. They were about three hundred meters from the beam when that changed. Loud, horrifying horn announced the arrival of Harbinger. Shepard knew this sound too well, but this time it was different. It was brutal, felt like it was trying to crush Commander's mind inside his skull. A nearby salarian took off his helmet and was coughing blood. He crumbled on his knees and reached for his pistol shouting: "Stop!" before shooting his head open.

The massive ship landed in right in front of the beam, its yellow eyes lit up the whole area.

"Charge!" ordered Anderson fiercely and rushed towards the capital ship. Tanks began firing, soldiers deployed heavy ordnance, rockets were launched on the enemy, several Mantis gunships appeared and opened fire. For a moment, the only thing heard were exploding grenades.

It didn't take long for the Reaper to answer with his own weapons. Red beams melted everything that wasn't able to avoid them in time, dying soldiers weren't heard, because they were vaporized almost in an instant. Allied gunships were quickly shot down and crashed on the onward ground force, tanks were cut in half by the molten metal.

One of the tanks on Shepard's right took a hit and its core exploded sending the Commander flying and landing in small ditch carved by the Reaper's weapon. He felt dizzy and noticed hearing a quiet hum. The explosion of the tank lifted tons of dust which created a dense black fog. Shepard could hardly see his gun in this fog, even though it was in his hand. Flashes of red continued to light up the darkness.

A moment later an Alliance soldier fell down beside him. His helmet was scorched and missing its right half, exposing his bloodied face. He looked at Shepard with his blue eyes, scared, terrified, though determined. The soldier probably didn't even recognize Shepard, because as soon as he appeared, he jumped back up and charged towards the beam. The only thing left of him was the clicking of his assault rifle, which soon disappeared, too.

Now the humming in Shepard's head slowly became louder, he was unsure whether it was because of the blast, or the vicinity to the Reaper. In both cases, he knew he has to move on. There was no point of trying the radio, he wouldn't be able to find anybody because of the omnipresent darkness. He grabbed his gun and slowly began to crawl towards the blue flare. Out of nothing, a familiar voice of Joker disturbed the otherwise silent radio: "Take this you son of a bitch!" The Normandy was heard flying right over Shepard's head. Although he couldn't see it, he felt in his chest the shock waves of numerous explosions hitting the Harbinger. Steaming shrapnel began to fall around. He stopped crawling. The humming was now accompanied by another sound, which somehow felt more organic to him. Both of these sounds turned to unbearable noise. His head felt like it is about to explode. Shepard turned on his back and found himself directly under Harbinger. The noises in his head clashed, each striving to be louder than the other.

Shepard's sight started to darken, he could feel an immense weight pushing against his whole body. Mere moments were left before passing out, when Shepard heard Harbinger lifting off. Both noises and the pressure he felt vanished. New energy was flowing to Shepard's body. He remembered Javik telling him that every soul that had ever been alive is watching this moment. Commander picked himself up and made his way to the beam.

He emerged from the fog, the beam was standing in front of him proudly touching the skies with three pillars around. Nearby were scattered dead bodies, belonging both to Reaper and his forces. Fortunately, he didn't recognize any of the sleeping faces, meaning his friends could still be alive.

A Marauder appeared from behind some rubble and opened fire. Shepard raised his M-76, crouched and greeted the abomination with hail of bullets. Once its shields were down, a single shot sent it to the ground. Without further hesitation Shepard jumped into the blue beam.


End file.
